virtute et fide

What is Stoicism?

PIETAS DISCIPLINA GRAVITAS

CONSTANTIA VIRTUS DIGNITAS
INDUSTRIA FIDES
RELIGIO AUCTORITAS
 Daily stoic*
• 1.“"You shouldn't give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don't care at all.“ Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, 7.38(This quote comes from Euripides' play Bellerophon)

• 2.“The best way to avenge yourself is to not be like that” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.6

• 3. You can bind up my leg, but not even Zeus has the power to break my freedom of choice.
Epictetus, Dioscourses, 1.1.23

• 4. “Don’t fill your mind with all the bad things that might still happen. Stay focused on the present
situation and ask yourself why it’s so unbearable and can't be survived. “ Marcus Aurelius,
Meditations, 8.36

• 5. “If you find something very difficult to achieve yourself, don’t imagine it impossible – for anything
possible and proper for another person can be achieved as easily by you.”Marcus Aurelius,
Meditations, 6.19

• 6. "Who then is invincible? The one who cannot be upset by anything outside their reasoned
choice.“ Epictetus, Dioscurses 1.18.21
MOS MAIORUM - "way of ancestors" and ROMAN VALUES

"manliness", courage, the ideal of the true Roman

male
The Roman attitude of dutiful respect towards the
gods, homeland, parents and family, which required
the maintenance of relationships in moral and dutiful
manner. Cicero defied it as "justice towards the gods".
The bond between gods and mortals, as carried out in
traditional religious practices for preserving the "peace
of the gods" (pax deorum)
Trust/trustworthiness, good faith/faithfulness,
confidence, reliability and credibility
The military character of Roman society suggests the
importance of discipline, as related to education,
training discipline and self control
A sense of importance of the matter at hand,
responsibility and earnestness ; dignified self control
steadiness or perseverance
A sense of-self worth, personal pride, reputation for
worth, honour and esteem
The sense of one's social standing, "prestige and
respect"
Hard work
 What is Stoicism?

• Stoicism was one of the four principal schools

of philosophy in ancient Athens, alongside:
• Plato’s Academy Plato (428 – 347 BC)
• Aristotle’s Lyceum Arisotle (384 – 322 BC)
• Epicurus’ Garden Epicurus (341 – 270 BC)
 Stoicism
• School of philosophy first developed in Athens in 3rd
century BC
• Founded by Zeno of Citium (Cyprus)
• Beginning around 301 BC at the Stoa Poikile (“Painted
porch”) from which his philosophy got its name
• Unlike the other schools of philosophy, Zeno chose to
teach his philosophy in a public space, which was a
colonnade overlooking the central place of Athens,
the Agora
 Roman stoics

• It proved especially popular among the Romans,

attracting admirers as diverse as the statesman
Seneca (4-65AD), the ex-slave Epictetus (50-120AD)
and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 AD)
• Although the philosophy of Stoicism as a whole is
complex, embracing everything from metaphysics
to astronomy to grammar the works of the three
great Roman Stoics focus on practical advice and
guidance for those trying to achieve happiness.
 Only virtue matters – the central stoic thought
• For Stoics entire human happiness depend entirely on
virtue
• Philosophy is a framework through which virtue could
be put in practice – essential if we want to live fulfilled
life
• The only thing that is truly good is an excellent mental
state, identified with virtue and reason. The only thing
that can guarantee happiness
• Everything else, status, wealth, family even health are
beyond our control and they are matters of
indifference for the stoics
 in accord with nature
• Philosophy (philosophia*) is perused by right reason and
through it stoics are able to live in accord with nature –
which is a way to achieve happy life (vita beata)
• We ought to acknowledge that we are small parts of a
larger, organic whole, shaped by larger processes that are
ultimately our of our control.
• There is nothing to be gained from trying to resist these
larger process except anger, frustration and
disappointment
• While there are many things in the world that we can
change, there are many others we cannot and we need to
understand and accept it
 emotions
• The challenge for would be Stoic philosopher is right mental
disposition;
• Stoic needs to peruse mental tranquillity which leads to
securitas
• Emotions are very negative things in stoicism and they are
the project of our judgements
• Because they are due to our judgements it means they are
within our control – change the judgements and you
change the emotions
• Despite the popular image, the Stoic does not repress or
deny his emotions; instead he simply doesn't have them in
the first place
 Control over emotions
• We have to control our impulses/emotions so that our
impulses are in accord to the true value of objects
• It is necessary to overcome emotions
• Fear, anger, grief, desire (especially desire for reaches)
– they all derives from incorrect judgement
• Self mastery is critical
• It will bring us immunity from whatever chance
(fortuna) bring us and will enable us to understand
and welcome whatever happens to us as something
fated
 Duty and public life
• Stoic emphasis on duty (officium) resonated
strongly with traditional Roman ethics and made
this philosophy quite appealing for elite Romans
• It became very popular among Roman elite in
the late Republic
• Cicero was quite keen on some stoic principles
though he was more follower of Plato
•  Stoics thought that they should  take part in
public life – opposite of the Epicurean ethic
 Difficult time and circumstances
• It was appealing to people living in difficult
time – people who have very limited control
under their life
• Stoics believe that under some circumstances
might be right to take their own life – decision
was to be taken very carefully (Cato, Seneca)
• It was a mean of ultimate freedom of the stoic
• living under the tyrant – Stoic has an option
of controlling his own life and death
 Roman stoicism - ‘cherry-picked to offer a moral ‘Roman’ ideal

• “As for tenets of the Stoics, they could support

doctrines quite distasteful to Roman
Republicans, namely monarchy or the
brotherhood of man. The stoic teaching
indeed was nothing more than a
corroboration and theoretical defence of
certain traditional values of the governing
class in an aristocratic and Republican state”
R. Syme, The Roman Revolution, p57 (ocr
textbook, page113)